UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian diplomat Ivonne A-Baki has been nominated as a candidate for the next UN secretary-general, said La Neice Collins, the spokesperson for the president of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
A-Baki's candidacy was recommended by Tonga, making her the eighth nominee to enter the race.
The other seven candidates for the top UN job are: Michelle Bachelet, former Chilean president and former UN high commissioner for human rights; Maria Fernanda Espinosa, former UN General Assembly president and former foreign minister and defense minister of Ecuador; Rafael Mariano Grossi of Argentina, current director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Rebeca Grynspan, former vice president of Costa Rica and current secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development; Olara Otunnu of Uganda, former UN under-secretary-general; Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana's permanent representative to the United Nations; Macky Sall, former president of Senegal.
The term for the next UN secretary-general starts on Jan. 1, 2027. ■
